Cellular and Synaptic Physiology of Auditory Processing

听觉处理的细胞和突触生理学

• 批准号: 7107951
• 负责人: Claudio V Mello
• 金额: $ 3.44万
• 依托单位: OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2008-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7107951
• 关键词: auditory pathways; behavioral /social science research tag; behavioral habituation /sensitization; brain morphology; communication behavior; corpus striatum; electrophysiology; experience; immunocytochemistry; learning; memory; neural information processing; neural plasticity; neurophysiology; songbirds; stimulus /response; verbal behavior; vocalization; voltage /patch clamp

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This FIRCA proposal is for a collaborative research project between Dr. Ricardo M. Leao, of the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Dr. Claudio Mello of the Neurological Sciences Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland Oregon. Dr. Mello's NIH Grant (R01- DC02853; Gene regulation in auditory learning}, is the parent grant to this proposal. This proposal is concerned with brain circuits involved in the auditory processing of song in songbirds, more specifically the circuitry organization of the caudomedial neostriatum (NCM) in the zebra finch. The long-term goal is to elucidate the involvement of NCM in vocal communication and vocal learning. The proposed research objectives are to understand how the song processing circuits in NCM are functionally organized and whether and how these circuits are modified by experience. NCM is a major area within the auditory processing pathways of songbirds, comparable to portions of the auditory cortex of mammals. NCM neurons show robust electrophysiological responses to song and a long-lasting, stimulus- specific decrease ("habituation") of these responses upon repeated presentations of the same stimulus. This experience- dependent plasticity in NCM is a major candidate for a mechanism involved in song auditory memories. In addition, NCM neurons show marked song-induced expression of the transcription factor zenk. The established link between zenk and neuronal plasticity in mammals suggests that zenk expression in NCM is associated with synaptic plasticity in NCM circuitry. However, the information on the cellular and synaptic physiology of NCM required for testing hypotheses on the functions of NCM and song-induced zenk expression is currently not available. The proposed experiments will use electrophysiological recordings in slices in combination with morphological, tract-tracing, and immunocytochemical analysis to determine the circuit organization of NCM and to evaluate whether the habituation of NCM to song involves changes in the properties of the neuronal cells that constitute song auditory processing circuits in NCM. Results from the proposed study will contribute to our understanding of how auditory processing circuits for learned vocalizations are organized and modified by experience. Because birdsong is a learned vocal behavior, these studies will potentially help us understand how humans acquire speech, as well as possible mechanisms involved in certain speech and language disorders.

描述(由申请人提供)：本FIRCA建议书是由巴西圣保罗Ribeirao Preto医学院生理系的Ricardo M.Leao博士和俄勒冈州波特兰俄勒冈健康与科学大学神经科学研究所的Cldio Mello博士共同开展的研究项目。Mello博士的NIH补助金(R01-DC02853；听觉学习中的基因调节)是这项提案的父母补助金。 这一建议涉及鸣禽鸣叫听觉处理的大脑回路，更具体地说是斑雀尾侧新纹状体(NCM)的回路组织。其长期目标是阐明NCM在声乐交流和声乐学习中的作用。拟议的研究目标是了解NCM中的歌曲处理电路是如何功能组织的，以及这些电路是否以及如何根据经验进行修改。 NCM是鸣禽听觉处理通路中的一个主要区域，可与哺乳动物的部分听觉皮质相媲美。NCM神经元对SONG表现出强大的电生理反应，并且在重复呈现相同刺激时，这些反应出现长期的、刺激特异性的减少(“习惯化”)。NCM中这种依赖经验的可塑性是歌曲听觉记忆机制的主要候选者。此外，NCM神经元表现出明显的歌曲诱导转录因子Zenk的表达。在哺乳动物中建立的Zenk与神经元可塑性之间的联系表明，NCM中Zenk的表达与NCM回路中的突触可塑性有关。然而，目前还没有关于NCM的细胞和突触生理学的信息，以检验关于NCM和SONG诱导的Zenk表达的假说。 建议的实验将使用脑片上的电生理记录，结合形态学、束追踪和免疫细胞化学分析来确定NCM的回路组织，并评估NCM对SONG的习惯性是否涉及构成NCM中SONG听觉处理回路的神经细胞特性的变化。这项拟议研究的结果将有助于我们理解学习发声的听觉处理电路是如何通过经验来组织和修改的。因为鸟鸣是一种习得的发声行为，这些研究可能会帮助我们理解人类如何获得言语，以及某些言语和语言障碍所涉及的可能机制。